“As real wages decline and middle-class jobs are under threat by Republicans,” said Cathy Familathe, president of ILWU SCDC, “we need leaders who have the strength and experience to fight for change. That is why, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Southern California District Council proudly supports former Lieutenant Commander Gil Cisneros for Congress. The son of a cafeteria worker and Vietnam veteran, Gil knows the issues that face working people each day. When Gil gets to Washington, he will fight for a livable wage and invest in our community.”

The endorsement adds to a truly impressive coalition of support including SEIU California, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), UniteHere! Local 11, Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, United Steel Workers, the Orange County Labor Fed, the LA County Labor Fed, the California Labor Fed, IBEW Local 11, LiUNA Local 562, fourteen Democratic members of Congress, more in-district local elected officials than any other Democratic candidate running, women’s rights champion Dolores Huerta, the Giffords Campaign to End Gun Violence, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s BOLD PAC, End Citizens United, and the national Veterans advocacy organization VoteVets.

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Gil Cisneros is a former U.S. Naval Officer and was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal (2), the National Defense Medal, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for his exemplary service to his country. Gil is Advocate and co-founder of The Gilbert & Jacki Cisneros Foundation, an organization committed to improving the level of Hispanic education in the country. Gilbert’s dedication toward philanthropy began when he purchased a winning California Mega Millions lottery ticket in 2010. Gil and Jacki partnered with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the city of Pico Rivera, California to create Generation First Degree Pico Rivera, with the goal of putting a college degree in every Hispanic household in the city. Gil’s commitment to education, led him to be appointed to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative’s advisory board, on which he still serves, and President Obama’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

California’s 39th Congressional District, split between Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino Counties, will be one of the most competitive districts in California. Hillary Clinton won the district by a whopping nine points, the DCCC labeled it a first-round target on its battlefield map and recently, the Cook Political Report changed the district’s status from Lean R to Lean D.